*The following narrative is from one of our HIV-positive scholarship applicants. It has been minimally changed to remove any identifying information.*
I remember the day I was diagnosed with HIV as clear as it was yesterday. It was December 1995 in Atlanta, Georgia. Back in those days, promiscuous gay men would routinely go in for HIV testing so that they could flaunt their negative status. If you tested positive, it was essentially a death sentence. I remember going in for my follow-up visit to find out the results (results were available after a week). The nurse came in and without missing

*The following narrative is from one of our HIV-positive scholarship applicants. It has been minimally changed to remove any identifying information.*
I had just turned 18. It was summertime and my dad was out of town. It was the perfect time for me to let out all my sexual frustrations that I had kept to myself for so long-- It was a time of liberation, of freedom, of accepting myself as a gay young man. It was a beautiful summer simmering with the vigor of youth and recklessness, and that’s how I remember it. That’s how I’ve always remembered it.
It wasn’t much later-- in early August,

Statistics show that men who have sex with men— whether they identify as gay, bisexual, or other— have a higher risk of contracting an STD than any demographic, but many factors other than the specifics of how sex goes down in the bedroom contribute to this increased risk. Economic and societal factors such as income, the effects of emotional support on risk taking, and the power and privilege structures of society have all been found to play a role in the likelihood of succumbing to an STD, especially HIV.

A study detailed in mBio, an open access journal of the American Society for Microbiology, reveals that the skin’s natural collective of microorganisms can help fight off certain infections, including the sexually transmitted disease Chancroid.

National HIV/AIDS and Aging Awareness Day, NHAAAD, is celebrated every September 18th. We have created an infographic of facts surrounding HIV/AIDS in the United States' aging population. People over the age of 50 are at an increased risk of contracting HIV, learn more:
Celebrate by getting tested-- Know your status!

Getting Freaky
In general, fetishes are outside the norm of sexual activity and knowledge and many of them carry their own unique risks when it comes to preventing STDs and HIV. The Oxford English Dictionary defines "fetish" in the following way: "An object, a non-sexual part of the body, or a particular action which abnormally serves as the stimulus to, or the end in itself of, sexual desire." Fetishes are known as paraphilias when they involve extreme, dangerous or harmful elements.

Typically when people think of age groups that are prone to getting sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) they only think of young people, but think again. Americans over 50 are contracting STDs at an alarming rate.
Consider this-- you’re a single 65-year-old. You’re retired. Your generation grew up living by the words “If it feels good, do it!” So you do, you do it.